Filling device for lighters



Nov. 5, 1929. T.y MARSH 1,734,388

FILLING DEVICE FOR LIGHTERS 'Filed Sept. 27, 1928 INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 5, 1929 Unirse- STA CHARLES T. MARSH, OF SPRNGFIELD,MASSACHUSETTS FILLING Dnvion non Lic-:nanas Application filed September 27, 1928. Serial 110.308,783.

This invention relates to a device for filling cigarette lighters and the like.

Such lighters usually include a reservoir containing a suitable,absorbent material yi adaptedto'be saturated with the liquid fuel,

a wick leading from the reservoir, and suitable means, such as a flint and steel, for igniting the fuelwhich is drawnup by the wick. These lighters, as is well known, require frequent filling and the scheme of filling, as now generally practiced, is unsatisfactory in several ways. It is inconvenient and at best a messy operation Sincethese lighters rrun dry so quickly, onewishes rto get the lighters A always filled to capacityy and,'in striving to do so with the present' filling metliod', the danger is that the lighter will be filled to eX- cess. More liquid will be put into the reservoir than the absorbent materialtherein can hold, with the result that thereservoir may leak and thus cause a nuisance.

This invention has for its object to provide a device, by means of whiclithe lighter can be filled exactly to its capacity without any danger of gettinyr excess liquid into the reservoii',-suclr results being accomplished automatically without requiring any atten-k tion or care on the partof the user. At the saine time, the" invention affords a device whereby the lighter may be filled with the least inconvenience and Without soilingthe liandsof the user.y

f More particularly, the device *consists of ar reservoir, having a wick therein, and a nozzle l"` i f 4.

adapted for engagement with the lighcei and through which the wick extends." The lighter is placed in operative relation with the nozzle and left there for a suitable period, during whichliquid is supplied by capillaryattracto the absorbent material of the lighter. As soon as such material has absorbed allthe liquid that it 'can hold, the yaction ceases and tion from the reservoir to the wick and thence erence to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a sectional elevational view of a' filling device embodying my invention;

- Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan View thereof showing the yfilling nozzle engaged in one way with a cigarette lighter for the filling function; y

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevational View taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. t is a view, taken similarly to Fig. 3, but showing another Way in which the filling nozzle can be engaged withjthe lighter to effeet the filling function; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational View illustrative of a modification.

Referring to Fig. l, the filling device coniprises a reservoir 6, of any desired shape and capacityforfcontaining the liquid; a nozzle 7, which is adapted for engagement1 with a cigarette lighter L, either in the manner shownin Fig. 3 or that shown in Fig. 4, and which is suitably connected tothe reservoir; and a Wick 8 which extends through nozzle 7 and also dips into the liquid in reservoir 6. The liquid in the reservoir creeps up and alongthe Wick 7 by capillary attraction and is carried to and absorbed by either the Wick fw of the lighter orthe absorbent filler thereof, accordingly as the nozzle 7 is engaged with the lighter in the inannei' shown in Fig. 3er that shown in Fig. 4.

The reservoir 6 preferably has a part which is so formed'as to serve asa support for the lighter L while it is being filled and such part may conveniently be the top Wall 9 of the reservoir.` Thetop 9, as Shown, is in the form of a detachabley cap, which is threaded into an opening in the upper end of the reservoir. 'The reservoir may be filled through such opening orin any other suitable manner. A gasket l0 is interposed between the cap and reservoir toseal the joint therebetween. The chief reason for the detachment of the cap 9, howeveigis to enable the convenient assembly ofcertain parts which are mounted thereon asl hereinafter described;

It is desirableto provide somev means, preferably resilient for holding the nozzle 7 prop- 'ei'lyl engaged with the lighter L, 'While the -surely engage with the absorbent filling l.

latter is being filled, at which time it is preferably, although not necessarily, supported on the cap 9. Such means may take various forms and still accomplish the desired work but I prefer that form illustrated, in which the holding means is combined with the conduit connection between nozzle 7 and reservoir 6.

As shown, the nozzle is suitably fixed in, nd depends from a hollow head 11 to which is also suitably fixed one end of a laterally eX- tencing tube 12. rf "he other end of tube 1Q, is fixed to a second hollow head 13 to which is also fixed a depending tube 14. rlhe latter is mounted for vertical sliding movement, and also for turning movement, in a tubular post 15 which is suitably fixed, as indicated, to cap 9 and upstands therefrom.. A second post 16 is fixed to cap 9 at a diametrically opposite point and the center to center spacing of these two posts corresponds with the center to center spacing of nozzle 7 and tube 14. The upper end of pest 16 has a well 17 formed therein to received the nozzle 7 when the filling device is not in use. Gaskets 18 and 19 encompass the nozzle 7 and tube 14, respectively, and engage between the upper end of their respective posts 16 and 15 and the overlying heads 11 and 13. A suitable spring is provided to pull tube 14 downwardly and hold the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 1. To permit a wide range of vertical movement of tube 14 without adding to the ieight of the reservoir, I prefer to use a spring 20 of flat metal. One end of this spring is suitably fired to cap 9, as by being clamped between the latter and the headed over7 end 21 of post 1G. rIhe other end is forked to straddle tube 14 and presses down on a circumferential flange 22 provided on the lower end of tube 14.

The described arrangement enables the interconnected members 7, 11, 12, 13 and 14 to be raised to withdraw nozzle 7 completely from well 17 and also enables the nozzle to be swung about the axis of tube 14 so that the nozzle can overlie various parts of cap 9. Thus, when the lighter L is placed on cap 9 as shown in FiOs. 2 and 3, the nozzle 7 may be swung to overlie the wick tube t of the lighter and then lowered until it engagesand encompasse` the same. The spring 2O will press the lov-:er end of the nozzle into close engagement with the shoulder S of the tube t, thus sealing joint against the entrance of air to the contacting wicks 8 and w. lVhere the nozzle 7 is engaged in the usual filling opening of the lighter L, as shown in Fig. 4, the filling plug p and the attached flint container c (shown in Fig. 3) are first removed; the lighter is then inverted and nozzle 7 is inserted into such opening The nozzle is long enough to entend into the lighter at least as far as container c does, so that the wick w will The head 13 then presses gasket 13 against the base of the lighter and effects a sealed joint therebetween.

rIhe method of filling shown in Fig. 3 is preferred because it can be effected with the least inconvenience. One simply lifts the snufier arm a of thD lighter and engages the nozzle 7 with the uncovered wick tube t. Then also the liquid is first communicated to the wick fw so that the same will surely be sat` urated and in readiness for use when the lighter is removed, even though the filling operation may not have been completed. It is possible, with the scheme shown in Fig. 4 for the absorbent material to become partially saturated with liquid without satur` ating the wick w. Filling through the wick, as in Fig. 3, eliminating such difficulty. Wvhere it is desired to fill the lighter through the usual filling opening, the nozzle could be directly connected to cap 9 in upstanding relation, as shown at 7 in Fig. 5, so as to enter such opening without making it necessary to invert the lighter as in Fig. 4. The head 11 would then serve solely as a means for pressing the lighter against cap 9 and holding it in place rather than as a conduit connection between the reservoir and nozzle.

IVhile according to the broader features of the invention, the wick 8 may be of any suitable type, considerable importance is attached to the particular construction and arrangement illustrated. It is desired, especially when the apparatus is used as in Fig. 4, to have the wick project slightly from the nozzle to assurecontact with the absoroent material of the lighter. In any case, contact of wick 8 with the wick of the lighter or other absorbent material such as f, is desired. Also, when the device is used as in Fig. 3, the wick 8 must yield by moving upwardly in its nozzle when wick fw enters the latter and it must again move outwardly into the normal position shown in Fig. 1, after the filling operation has been effected. In view of these requirements, I use a wick 8 which is stiff or at least has a stiff core, such as 23. A pipe cleaner, having the usual twisted wire core,

makes a satisfactory wick for the purpose.

That is, that part of the wick in nozzle 7 will be stiff enough so as not to compress to any substantial degree when engaged by wick fw but instead will move bodily upwardly in the nozzle. The horizontal portion of wick 8 which extends between heads 11 and 13, due to the wire core 23, will in itself act as a spring and resiliently support the first named part so that it will yield upwardly when engaged by wick w and move back again when disengaged. If the spring in the core risnt enough for the purpose, I may add a separate spring such as 24, which at one end presses down on the horizontal part of wick 8 and tends to hold the vertical part in nozzle 7 in the position shown in Fig. 1. This spring 24 is suitably fixed at its other end, as by being clamped between the upper end of tube lll and head 13, as shown in Fig. l. lVhile the use of a stiff wick is important for the reasons stated, such wick is hardly flexible enough to remain immer-sed in the liquid in reservoir 6 at all times. Then tube 14 is raised, the stiff wick 8 might be drawn out of the liquid. Toavoid such a possibility I prefer to connect to the lower end of wick 8, a freely flexible wick, such as 8, which may be of braided tubular material.

The operation will be clear from the foregoing' description and it only remains to be pointed out that the device offers a means whereby a cigarette lighter can be filled with the least inconvenience. The plan is that one would place the lighter in operative relation with the hlling device before retiring at night and, on arising, the lighter will be found filled to the proper degree. As a matter of fact, the device will fill the lighter in a much shorter time, say about twenty minutes. The important thing to note is that the lighter' cannot be filled to excess, as it can with other methods commonly used. After the filling f and wick w have become saturated with liquid, no more liquid will flow in and in this way the lighter gets all the liquid that the absorbent material f and w can hold and no more.

The invention has been disclosed herein, in

` an embodiment at present preferred, for illustrative purposes but ythe scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

lVhat I claim is:

l. In a filling device for lighters, a reservoir for the filling liquid, an upstanding nozzle connected with the reservoir for movement toward and away from the latter while maintaining communication therewith, and a wick extending through the nozzle and dipping into the liquid in the reservoir.

2. In a filling device for lighters, a reservoir for the filling fluid, a conduit including an upstanding part turnably mounted in the reservoir and an angular-ly extending part terminating in a nozzle for engagement with the lighter, and awick extending through said conduit and nozzle and dipping into the liquid in said reservoir.

3. In a filling device for lighters, a reservoir for the filling liquid, a conduit including an upstanding part turnably mounted in the reservoir and also mounted for sliding movement in the direction of the axis about which it turns while maintaining at all times com` niunication with said reservoir, said conduit including another part extending at an angle to the first named part and terminating in a nozzle, and a wick extending through said nozzle and conduit and extending into the bottom of said reservoir.

4:. In a filling device for lighters, a reseryvoir which is adapted to contain the filling liquid Vand on which the lighter may be supported kwhile being filled, a hollow standard fixed to'and upstanding from the reservoir, a tube mounted for axial sliding movement in said standard, a'tube connected to the first named f tubel yand extending laterally therefrom,a depending nozzle fixed to the rsecond named tube and adapted for engagement with the lighter, a wick extending from the bottom of said reservoir. through said tubes and nozzle,and a standard fixed to and upstanding from the reservoir and provided with a well to kreceive said nozzle when the latter is not engaged with the lighter.

,5. In a filling device for lighters, of the type having a wick tube and wick therein, a reservoir for vthefillinzg liquid, a conduit communicating with the reservoir and terminating with a nozzle arranged to engage the wick tube of the lighter, and a wick in part immersed in the liquid in said reservoir andextending into said nozzle, said wick comprising a stiff but resiliently supported part located in said nozzle and capable of yielding axially of the nozzlewithout being substantially compressed when engaged by the wick of the lighter.

6. In a filling device for lighters, of the type having a wick tube and wick therein, a reservoir for the filling liquid, a conduit communicating with a reservoir and terminating with a nozzle arranged to engage the wick tube of the lighter, a wick in part immersed in the liquid' insaid reservoir and extending into said nozzle, said wick comprising a stiff but resiliently supported part located in said nozzle and mounted for limited sliding movement therein, and resilient means tending to move the wick `outwardly in the nozzle but allowing it to yield and move inwardly therein when engaged by the wick of the lighter.

7. In a filling device for lighters, a reservoir for the filling liquid, a conduit mounted for sliding movement in the reservoir and terminating with a nozzle for engagement with the lighter, a wick including a relatively 'stiff part located in said conduit and a freely flexible part connected to the first part extending tothe bottom of said reservoir.

8. The combination with a lighter having fuel absorbing material, of a reservoir for the fuel, a nozzle on the reservoir, and a wick having a part immersed in the fuel in the reservoir, a part extending `through the nozzle, and terminating with an end arranged to be thrust into Contact with said material, whereby fuel will be conveyed from the reservoir through said wick to said absorbent material until the latter is saturated with fuel.

9. The combination with a'lighter having fuel absorbing material, of a reservoir for the fuel, aI nozzle on the reservoir, a wick having a part immersed in the fuel in the reservoir, a part extending through the nozzleand terlos niinating with an end, and means for forcing said end into kContact With said material whereby fuel Will be conveyed from the reservoir through said Wick to said ahsorbentmaterial until the latter is saturated with fuel.

10. The combination with a lighter having fuel absorbing material, of a fuel reservoir on which said lighter is supported While being filled, a Wick, part of Which is immersed in the fuel in said reservoir and part of which extends out of the reservoir and is arranged to he moved into Contact with said material, and resilient means for holding the lighter to said reservoir and maintaining said Contact.

In testimony whereof signature. Y

CHARLES T. MARSH.k

I have aixed 'my 

